More and more young adults are eating antidepressants, almost one -fifth of women

Young The use of adult antidepressants has almost doubled over the last ten years, according to Kela’s information.

In particular, there has been growth among young women. Almost one fifth of women aged 18-29 used antidepressants last year.

The use of young men’s antidepressants has also become more common, but much more moderately. 7.5 % of men aged 18-29 used antidepressants last year.

Finnish children and adolescents eat significantly more depression and ADHD drugs than the same age groups in the other Nordic countries.

ADHD drugs are already used by one-tenth of 7-12 year olds. Girls are clearly less frequently using ADHD, but the number of girls using ADHD has been six times in ten years.

Kela Senior Research Fellow Miika Mountain says to STT that fifteen years ago, less antidepressants were used in Finland than in the other Nordic countries. Since then, Finland has taken other countries and passed.

Women’s Mental health problems increased during the corona and have not returned to the old level. The difference between drugs for young men has already become 10 percentage points.

« Girls, and especially young women, are more likely to seek health services. That is, when applying for treatment is greater, you can be more likely to be diagnosed, » Vuori says.

According to Mountain, women are also clearly more often clients in Kela Rehabilitation Psychotherapy than men. However, the increase in the use of young adult antidepressants has slowed down in the last couple of years for both sexes.

Although women are more likely to seek treatment than men, according to Vuori, a study committed in Sweden has found that women are more likely to diagnose and treat men with the same symptom.

In return, it seems that boys are much more sensitive to ADHD medication than girls with symptoms in the same way.

Psychotherapy is the primary recommendation for treating mild and medium depression symptoms. However, according to Vuori, in recent years it has been raised that short psychotherapy is not sufficiently available, which may make drug treatment more sensitive.

Finnish The difference between the other Nordic countries is more difficult to explain. In Sweden, for example, the use of young adult women’s antidepressants was at the same level as we still have in 2016, but by 2024 Finland had taken five percentage points ahead.

“It should be found out to what extent we are today in terms of practices. These are quite complicated phenomena,” Vuori says.

The use of ADHD drugs in Finnish children was also less than 15 years ago than in the other Nordic countries. The syndrome was not recognized as well as today, and medicines were not necessarily available to the same extent.

In particular, the launch of ADHD medication for boys in primary school age has increased dramatically. There is a big difference between these figures to the western neighbor. According to Mountain, ADHD will be identified in girls and young women later.

Let’s give Then, in Finland, depression and ADHD drug recipes on too sensitive grounds? Vuori estimates that this may happen at the individual level and experts are concerned about the medical over -care of primary school boys. Knowledge of drug treatment practices is incomplete.

« I believe, trust and hope that medication is always rational, focused on clear uses and follow -up is careful, » Vuori says.